My Fab Fifties Life

Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024

January 24, 2025

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Location: Around the World

I absolutely love writing this blog post each year. Throughout the year I think about what experiences and places might make this list. And when it’s time to write – it’s a fun walk down memory lane as I reminisce about the previous year of travel. Maybe I can inspire you to travel to some of these places. I know for a fact several of my followers are planning visits to Australia … which was our favorite country from 2023! I hope it’s fun for you to read and enjoy the awards we bestow on our favorites and the best of the best (and a few duds too) from our year of travel; the Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024.

We are now into our ninth year of travel as part of The Grand Adventure. What a remarkable ride it has been. Not sure exactly what the next few years will bring…but it’s already open for discussion.

2024

What an incredible year. We have had a wonderful year of travel; both long stays and short, independent travel and guided. Though we prefer longer stays (and we had some good ones) this year included more short stays than in the past. This resulted in the greatest number of countries ever – TWENTY FOUR! The list includes; Thailand, Singapore, Italy, San Marino, Spain, Andorra, Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Austria, Slovakia, Madagascar, USA, Armenia, France, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates.

Destinations – 24 Countries & 2 US States

Favorite Country – Madagascar

I never imagined Madagascar would be my favorite country of this travel year. But we were astonished and enchanted by the beauty, the wildlife and the people. Madagascar had been on our bucket list for a very long time, and it was worth the wait.

Favorite City – a tie between Athens Greece and Vienna Austria

With so many destinations it really is hard this year to choose one favorite, and these two cities charmed us. We returned to Athens after having a poor experience the first time and I am so glad we did. It is remarkable. And Vienna with its astonishing beauty is definitely one I hope to visit again.

Favorite Town – Khiva Uzbekistan and Alberobello Italy

For overall history, beauty and unique experiences these two lovely towns, though very different from each other, were our two favorites of the year. Khiva Uzbekistan and Alberobello Italy

Favorite Island – Crete Greece and Honorable Mention to Sicily Italy

My husband and I discussed this category in depth and finally settled on Crete with an Honorable Mention to lovely Sicily. We had long stays on both, during off season in both, which gave us a great opportunity to experience the heart of these remarkably unique places. We would love to return.

Most Expensive Country – Austria

We only visited Vienna on our six days in Austria, but Vienna is expensive. Despite staying a bit outside of the historic core, our hotel was expensive. And despite loving all the food we enjoyed, it too was very expensive. But this city is worth a visit, no matter what.

Least Expensive Country – Thailand

For budget travelers, Thailand is the place

We spent a month on the island of Koh Chang, doing very little. We didn’t love our Airbnb, but it was comfortable enough and cheap. However it was so far away from anything including a supermarket or even a restaurant, we had little reason to spend any money during our month long stay.

Accommodations

More hotels than in past years but also several Airbnb’s, and some wonderful yurts!

Favorite Airbnb – Crete Greece

We loved this big beautiful stone house with swimming pool we rented with friends in Chania on the island of Crete. A restored historic home was perfect for a group. Another smaller unit next door we might consider in the future.

Favorite Hotel – Singapore

Comfortable, clean and affordable Singapore Oasia Hotel

We stayed in ALOT of hotels this year (35), it’s hard to even remember them all. But we chose the Oasia Hotel in Singapore as our favorite. In fact we just booked that same hotel again for next March. The best thing about this hotel was it was affordable, in a city that can break the bank, and the staff was great, room was comfortable and the location was excellent. I’m sure this will be our go-to for layovers in Singapore from here on.

Best Airbnb for Service – Yerevan Armenia

Some Airbnb’s you never hear from your hosts, while others are helpful and kind. We had several exceptional hosts this year, but we give this award to our host David in Yerevan Armenia. When we were in a car accident (see more about that below) he made sure we got to a hospital, served as our interpreter and would not accept any compensation for giving up his Sunday to assist us. It’s rare we have emergencies like this, but we are forever grateful to kind people like David.

David never left our side at the Emergency Room

Most Expensive Airbnb – Chania Crete

A caveat is needed here – This Airbnb was three bedrooms with a pool and we shared the cost with two other couples. It was beautiful too and we loved our stay at $174 per night.

We loved this place in Crete I would like to go back.

Least Expensive Airbnb – Baku Azerbijan

Although it smelled of cigarette smoke, our older apartment in Baku also came with an amazing view – for only $35 a night.

Best View – Koh Chang Thailand

Although we had some issues with this property and the host, we gotta say the view was unparalleled.

Most Unique Accommodations – Kyrgyzstan

Biggest Yurt ever is where we had our meals

Our tour through the Five Stans had us staying in hotels, home stays and yurts, and our favorite was the Almaluu Yurt Village in IssyKuhl Lake, Kyrgyzstan. Comfy and warm, the unique and historic style of nomadic housing is beautiful and functional and now I want one for my own!

Food & Drink

Favorite Cuisine – Sicily and Georgia

Sicily is all about the freshest ingredients

Kachapuri is Georgia’s national dish. So good!

Vastly different, the cuisine of these two unique places were amazing. Sicilian food (don’t call it Italian) is fresh and full of flavor and the Sicilians are so incredibly proud of their food. In Georgia we were astonished to stumble on the unique and flavorful cuisine influenced over a thousand years by travelers along the Silk Road.

Best Food Tour – Bologna Italy & T’bilisi Georgia

Again it’s a tie. We do a lot of food tours. The best ones include unique hidden places, tidbits of history and insider knowledge, served up with a knowledgeable and humorous guide. I highly recommend both of these tours if you visit Bologna and Tours and the City or T’bilisi with Culinary Backstreets.

Best Cooking Class – Crete Greece and Honorable Mention Koh Chang Thailand

The Crete class was amazing, a family affair in a beautiful new cooking space. With our friends we were welcomed by the family at Veerna’s Kitchen and enjoyed a marvelous experience. We also had a tasty and fun day with Bunny at her Napalai Thai Cooking School in Koh Chang Thailand.

Outdoor oven at Veerna’s Cooking School, Crete

Delicious foods at Napalai Cooking School Koh Chang Thailand

Best Meal – Mother Wolf Las Vegas Nevada USA

Best meal of the year, surprisingly in Las Vegas

We spent a few days in Las Vegas in June, specifically to attend a concert of my husband’s favorite artist Elvis Costello. We were traveling with another couple, and before the concert we enjoyed one of the best meals I have ever had at beautiful restaurant called Mother Wolf. If you visit Las Vegas you must eat there.

Most Unique Food – Tajikistan

I bet you never heard of Qurutob. I sure hadn’t. But it is the national dish of Tajikistan and it is an acquired taste; dried sour yogurt is rehydrated and mixed with a delicious selection of grilled vegetables, bread and meat. We loved it!

Best Beer – Samarkand Uzbekistan

One of our free evenings in Samarkand we went looking for a micro brew pub. My husband has an internal radar for micro brew pubs. And we found Sam Craft. It was worth the search on a rainy night.

Best Wine – T’bilisi Georgia

I tried a lot of wine in T’bilisi. Here enjoying several on my food tour.

I learned while in Georgia that this country is considered the earliest place where wine was made, based on 8000 year old findings of wine making. The Georgian people take this very seriously, and all the wine we had was excellent. Back in the USA we looked for and found some places to purchase delicious Georgian wine…it is now part of our wine cellar.

Culture

Most Authentic Cultural Experience – Kyrgyzstan

Yurt Making – not many artisans left. This family welcomed us into their home to learn how it’s done.

We only had four days in Kyrgyzstan, but it was some of the most memorable days of my travels. And two authentic cultural experiences happened on the same day; spending time with a Master Eagle Hunter and a Yurt Building Family. Both these occupations are UNESCO Cultural protected ancient activities. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity with these people.

Most Amazing Man Made Structure – Matera Italy

Matera Italy was mind blowing – I had never heard of this place that dates back to the Paleolithic period

How to choose the winner when we visited Rome, Barcelona, Athens and amazing Uzbekistan? But we decided on one of the most unique places we have ever seen, an unexpected and new to us city of cave dwellings from thousands of years ago…the remarkable city of Matera. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Paleolithic (10th millennium BC), it is renowned for its rock-cut urban core, whose twin cliff side zones are known collectively as the Sassi. If you go to Italy – it’s a must.

Most Incredible Natural Sight – Baobab Alley Madagascar

I had been dreaming about seeing this place with my own eyes for years….and I was not disappointed. Nature is so amazing. Grateful that Madagascar has protected the Baobab trees.

Best Gardens – Schonbrunn Palace Vienna Austria

Well the incredible mansion/ Palace (Castle?) of the Hapsburg Dynasty just outside of Vienna was astonishing in itself, but the gardens…Wow. Hands down my favorite of all the gardens we saw this year.

Best Market – Khujand Market Tajikistan and Chorsu Market Tashkent Uzbekistan

This is only one part (the meat part) of Chorsu Market in Tashkent Uzbekistan

I loved this market in Khujand Tajikistan

If you read my blog posts much you know that a good, authentic market is possibly my favorite thing to do in any place we visit. And both of these, Chorsu in Uzbekistan and Khujand Tajikistan were all about the locals finding what they need from meat to produce to cheese and even clothing and shoes. It was perfect.

Best Museum – Azerbaijan Carpet Museum Baku Azerbaijan, Honorable Mention Belvedere Vienna Austria

The building is designed to look like a rolled up carpet.

We visited dozens of museums over the past year. So it was very hard to pick even two in this category. We considered everything from the amazing Acropolis Museum in Athens to the Gangster Museum in Las Vegas. But our choice for the top two are the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and the Belvedere Art Museum in Vienna. Though very different both house incredible works of art and are housed in magnificent architecturally unique building.

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt at the Belvedere

Best Walking Tour – Chania Crete & Night tour Baku Azerbaijan

We arrived in both Chania and Baku with not a lot of knowledge about the history (both recent and ancient) of either place. A good walking tour is always helpful in these situations. In Chania our group of six hired a guide who was born and raised in the town, was funny and informative and spoke excellent English. In Baku we did a night tour with five other “new” friends – the city absolutely sparkled at night and we learned some amazing history we would have completely missed without this excellent tour and guide.

Best Overall Historical Site – Athens Greece

We are so glad we returned to Athens for a longer visit after having a awful one day tour off a cruise ship decades ago. This time we explored this amazing city and all it has from top to bottom. It really is a remarkable place.

Best Performance – Spanish Riding School Vienna Austria and Honorable Mention Elvis Costello Las Vegas Nevada

I did not realize what we were getting into when we went to the Spanish Riding School performance in Vienna but it was unlike any horse performance anywhere in the world. Astonishing. And a wonderful concert in Las Vegas with Elvis Costello deserves an honorable mention.

I have never seen anything like the Spanish Riding School performance in Vienna

Elvis Costello still rocking after all these years

Best One Day Tour – Georgia

Georgia was incredible – this is Gergeti Trinity Church

In T’bilisi we hired a guide to take us to the Gudauri region, several hours outside the city and near the Russian border. This is a popular ski area, and also popular for tourists to hike and enjoy waterfalls and to visit the famous Gergeti Trinity Church. We lucked out with gorgeous weather on our visit…only a week later they got their first snow.

Best Multi-Day Tour – The Five Stans Intrepid Travel

After postponing this trip a few times due to the PanDamit, it finally happened for us in 2024. A 28 day tour. We were hesitant if 28 days and five countries would be too much. But thankfully Intrepid Travel made this an exceptional experience with very few bumps along the way. This was our second time using Intrepid and I think they have my loyalty.

Best Tour Guide – Svetlana with Intrepid Travel

One of the reasons Intrepid has our loyalty is they know what makes a good guide. Patient, smart, empathetic, funny and able to function on no sleep! Our guide in the Stans was Svetlana and she was absolutely remarkable.

Nature

Best Sunrise – Koh Chang Thailand

Every morning with my coffee. It was the best thing about this Airbnb.

Best Sunset – Madagascar

A dream come true in Madagascar being here at sunset.

Best Beach/Lake – Lake Ohrid North Macedonia

On the lake enjoying a beautiful sunny day

Hiking above Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia

What a lovely surprise both on and off the water, Lake Ohrid in North Macedoni

Best Hike – Zingaro Natural Reserve Sicily and Mount Rainier Washington State

Zingaro Nature Reserve was a short drive from our Airbnb in Scopello Sicily

My favorite place in the world, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State USA

We hike ALOT – around the world and at home in Washington State. Our favorites this year were very diverse, stunning and inspiring.

Overall Natural Beauty – Madagascar

Madagascar blew my mind. What a place.

Best Wildlife – Madagascar

There just aren’t enough words to adequately describe the wildlife of Madagascar. Photos help.

Chameleons and other reptiles where so beautiful but often camoflaged

Best Bird Watching – Madagascar

We have become very interested in birds over the last few years…but even with this interest we never gave much thought to where birds sleep. Or how they sleep. In Madagascar we had the remarkable experience of doing a night walking tour and seeing birds sleeping. And lots of other amazing birds too.

Athletic Pursuits

Best Golf – USA

Golfing in the summer in Washington State is a favorite past-time and we golfed once or twice a week throughout the summer.

Best Place to Run – Sicily

Secluded and beautiful running route in Sicily

Though we had a lot of rain during February in Sicily we got out and ran the dirt roads on the small peninsula where our cute Airbnb was. Rarely saw a car or another human.

Best Pool or Spa – Caldea Spa Andorra

Well that was a fun day at Caldea Spa in Andorra

We spent two short days in the tiny country of Andorra that straddles France and Spain. Our favorite thing we did was enjoy a full day at the famous Caldea Spa.

Weather

Hottest Day – Madagascar

It was great to get out on the water on this extreme hot and dry day

Most Humid – Thailand

Coldest Day – Border Crossing between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Icy cold wind greeted us as we crossed the border on foot between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Wettest Day – Bologna Italy

It was raining buckets but luckily Bologna’s famous porticoes kept us mostly dry

Windiest – Athens Greece and San Marino

We nearly blew off the mountain top of tiny San Marino

There were people up here in shorts and tshirt…terribly unprepared and turning blue.

Travel

Longest Travel Day – Koh Chang Thailand to Bologna Italy

Thirty four hours door to door – this day included a van, a ferry, three flights and a taxi. A total distance of 5971 miles. Thank goodness we have airport lounge privileges. Our longest single flight was Dubai to Seattle at 7410 miles; but a mere 18 hours door to door.

Shortest Flight – Trat to Bangkok

A quick flight covering 161 miles go us close to our destination of Koh Chang, but we also had to take a ferry.

Best Airport – Changi Singapore

Its worth it to visit Singapore just to see this airport.

One of the best and most beautiful airports in the world – Changi Singapore

Worst Airport – Morondava Madagascar

This place wasn’t the smallest airport we have ever been in, but it nearly was. Departure board was a white board written in colored marker

Miscellaneous

Expensive But Worth It – Five Stans Tour with Intrepid Travel

Of course a 28 day tour covering five countries isn’t going to be cheap. We had cars, planes, trains, vans, subways, all of our lodging, much of our food and the most amazing guide included in Intrepid Travels Five Stans Tour. For two people the cost was $13,530 dollars – just under $500 per day. I don’t regret it.

Each Country was amazing. This is Kyrgyzstan

The Ouch Award – Car Crash in Yerevan Armenia

It doesn’t look that serious. And it would not have been if we had been wearing seat belts.

A difficult lesson was learned when we got into a taxi that did not have seat belts. It wasn’t the first time in our travels where we have encountered this. We should have refused…but we didn’t and five minutes later the crazy driver crashed. At first we thought we were okay, just shaken. But the next day Arne had some serious and frightening symptoms. A trip to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a concussion. He did not have to stay in the hospital but he did have to lay low for the following two weeks, causing us to change our itinerary to give him time to recover before we began the Stans tour. We are very grateful it wasn’t worse. Seat belts. Always.

Best Photo of the Year

With 24 countries its hard to choose which photo is the best….not to mention I am obsessive about photo taking. But for 2024 we choose these – a collection of Baobab Alley Madagascar. Seeing this was a lifelong dream of mine. And it was just as amazing as I had imagined.

Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024

There you have it. The best of the best of My Fab Fifties Life travel of 2024. Amazing, memorable and unique experiences with new cultures and fantastic experiences around the world. What a grand adventure it is. We sure hope you will consider visiting some of these places and enjoying some of these unique experiences too – the eighth annual world travel awards 2024. Please let us know if you do visit any of our suggestions.

High above Bovilla Reservoir in Albania. That road to get here was interesting.

What next?

As I post this annual awards I am on the island of Maui – the first stop of our 2025 adventure. Over the next year we will visit anywhere from 8-12 more countries. Those include the Cook Islands, Australia, Singapore, Bhutan, France, Luxembourg, USA and Canada – with others still in the works.

Friendly and docile chameleons are my new favorite

It takes me weeks to write this post so I hope you have enjoyed the Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024. My goal is to inspire you. The world is so amazing…not everyone is going to want to go to places like Kyrgyzstan. I understand that. But I hope you have learned something and perhaps are motivated to step beyond your comfort zone. We hope you will continue to follow us around the globe, comment, pin and share this post so others can follow as well. Thank you and stay fabulous. This travel blog wouldn’t be possible without all of you.

Beautiful memorial in Novi Sad Serbia remembering the 4000 civilians murdered by the Hungarian forces during WWII

More From the Past

If you would like to see our Travel Awards from the past, you can click on any of these links; 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

HAPPY NEW YEAR OF TRAVEL!!! We appreciate it when you comment, share and pin our blog posts – especially this one!! The Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024. Stay tuned! Lots of adventures ahead! Thank you.

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Reading Wednesday

Book Review The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

January 22, 2025

Laureen

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I listened to this on on Audible while we were home over the holidays and I was doing so much running around in the car. It was good. Read by Saskia Maarleveld, who reads many other Audible’s including the Kate Quinn books. Lots of family drama and a murder mystery too. Here is my book review The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

Location

For me personally I enjoyed the region this book is placed in upstate New York and the Adirondacks. I enjoy this area very much. Moore’s description of the area, the summer camp and the geographical beauty was accurate and engaging.

The Plot

The novel is set in an area of up state New York where a family owns a remote but opulent summer home that employs much of the nearby town. The estate was originally a hunting and fishing lodge, and it retains a part of the land for a summer camp for wealthy kids. This is how we are introduced to the story. Like many books the mystique of the plot relies on jumping around between the mid 1950’s, an event that happens in 1961 and the current time of 1975.

Parts of the plot are good, but other parts were a stretch as far as believable..despite the fact the story is set in the 1960’s and 70’s. Even back then I don’t think a missing person/murder investigation would be handled the way the one in this story was handled. I had my own set of suspects for most of the book…I turned out to be wrong. There are some intense moments, and plot twists I didn’t see coming, including the ending. You will encounter addiction, loneliness, poverty, corruption and wealth as well as gender issues during a time when women were only beginning to advance.

The Characters

There are a lot of characters in the book. I didn’t have any trouble keeping them straight in my mind, and most are well developed. Some are very annoying, but that was in keeping with the story line; a simpering wife who turns to alcohol; an overbearing husband who uses his wealth and prestige to get what he wants; a quiet hard working camp director who seems to be hiding something; and a female detective trying to solve the case despite the roadblocks thrown her way as the first women Investigator in New York.

There are many more characters too who move the plot forward, some more believable than others.

Book Review The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

I liked but didn’t love this book despite the great reviews it has received from many other reviewers. I do recommend it for suspense and the topic of female characters navigating the changing times.

****Four stars for The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. Thanks for reading my book review The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. See last week’s book review A Sterling Life by Mark Hester.

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Reading Wednesday

Book Review A Sterling Life by Mark Hester

John Danz, Seattle Theatre Pioneer and a Grandson’s Journey to Discovery

January 15, 2025

Laureen

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I grew up with author Mark Hester. We lived on the same street in Bremerton Washington. It was a wonderful place to be a child, and all the neighborhood kids had the best time together…like something right out of The Wonder Years. So today I am happy to present my book review A Sterling Life by Mark Hester my childhood friend.

Before DNA

Long time readers of this blog might remember when I posted about my own family finding out we had a brother who we had never known (see it here). Well before DNA testing it was much easier to keep these kinds of secrets. And A Sterling Life is a book about how my friend Mark discovered all kinds of hidden secrets about his own genetics through DNA and ancestry research.

Genealogy

Hester, like many people, had been researching family history for years before DNA testing became available. But when he did take a DNA test he found some astonishing results that had never come up before. Mark was 25% Jewish. There must be a mistake…no one in his family had ever talked about being Jewish. It was this discovery, and a further decade of wondering and digging that brought Mark to realize who his real grandfather was.

John Danz

If you grew up in the Pacific Northwest like I did, the name John Danz was synonymous with movie theaters. The Sterling Recreation Organization, known as SRO was a common moniker when you went to a movie theater, drive-in or even associated with radio stations. I never thought much about it growing up, and I doubt Mark Hester did either. But Mark discovered that John Danz was his grandfather.

Born Israel Danowsky in Czarist Russian, Danz immigrated to Seattle with his family as a youth. He would grow to be one of the richest and most influential men in Seattle creating a theater empire. His focused and sometimes controversial business savvy would create the very successful Sterling Recreation Organization and help it survive two world wars, the Great Depression and the years long Seattle Amusement Trade strike.

Mark’s maternal grandmother Hazel, is the connecting piece to this puzzle. Although married at the time, Hazel apparently had a relationship with John Danz while working at one of his theaters in 1920. The result of that relationship was Mark’s mother Maxine. It’s unknown if Maxine, or even Hazel knew who the father was…but one can certainly speculate that Hazel knew. She took the secret to her grave.

Family Secrets

We all have family secrets, and none of us should be ashamed of things that happened long before we were born. In fact isn’t it cool how in today’s world we have access to such wonderful technology that brings to light lovely stories like this one. In Mark’s book he also mentions so many names and places familiar to me from my childhood and my years working in Seattle in the 1980’s and 90’s. It was a great story and a great walk down memory lane. Thanks Mark. And thanks to all for reading my book review A Sterling Life by Mark Hester.

See last week’s book review A Wolff in the Family by Francine Falk-Allen. We love it when you pin, comment and share about our book reviews. Thank you.

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Inspire

Here We Go Again – The Grand Adventure

Circumnavigate the Globe

January 10, 2025

Laureen

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Location: Westward

Time to go. After a wonderful (but wet) two and a half months back in the USA with family and friends it’s now time for us to continue year nine of the Grand Adventure. We have enjoyed our time back “home” but we are looking forward to warmer climates, returning to some favorite places as well as some brand new adventures. So for all of you who have been asking, let me tell you – Here We go – The Grand Adventure.

Circumnavigate the Globe

I don’t think this has ever happened before, but this itinerary has us traveling westbound the entire time. Starting in Seattle January 16 and circling the earth returning to Seattle May 4th. Our westward journey has us visiting seven countries (three brand new to us) over the next four months. Our itinerary is below…I hope you will follow along. Here we Go – The Grand Adventure.

Maui

Returning to Maui, one of our favorite places in the world, we will spend three weeks relaxing and soaking up the sun in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii USA. We have visited Maui many times, so this time we will focus on golf and hiking. We don’t plan to do much of anything as far as touristy sites. We just love the beauty of Maui, despite how expensive it can be.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

A new to us destination, we are looking forward to a week at a resort on the island of Rarotonga. We loved our visit a few years ago to French Polynesia and we thought this time we would try another South Pacific location. It’s very easy to get from Hawaii to the Cook Island, and also easy to continue on from there to our next destination of Australia.

Melbourne, Australia

We fell in love with Melbourne last year

This will be our third visit to Australia, one of our favorite countries in the world. It is a huge and diverse place and our previous experiences have been very positive. This time, we will spend an entire month in the city of Melbourne with a couple road a trips planned from there. It will be summer in Australia – and likely hot – but we are ready to enjoy a longer stay in this beautiful city, the largest city in Australia.

Singapore

Singapore is a international hub, and we have passed through this beautiful city/state twice before. This time we only have two quick nights, but it’s enough to see a couple of sites and eat some of the amazing food before our flight to…

Bhutan

Long on my dreaming of places, I am absolutely thrilled to finally be visiting the unique and beautiful country of Bhutan. It’s taken us a while to get to this destination…partly due to it’s remote location and also due to how expensive it can be. But we are ready to tick this long awaited destination off of our wish-list with a private nine day tour.

Bordeaux, France

We love France but the region of Bordeaux has eluded us on all our previous visits. This time we have rented an Airbnb for an entire month and look forward to getting to know this region well…and of course drink some wine along the way. When we leave Bordeaux we plan to take a train to Paris, with several days along the way in Lyon, Dijon and then finally…

Luxembourg

When I look at a map of Western Europe and where I have been there is a little tiny hole…that hole is Luxembourg. Time to tick that one off too. Luxembourg City looks so beautiful, my kind of fairy tale European destination and we have the time so lets see it. Compact and easy to maneuver, it will be a great way to end our trip. But first a stop in the City of Lights.

Paris

Of course we can’t leave France without a couple of days in the beautiful city of Paris. Spring in Paris…what’s not to love? We look forward to visiting the newly reopened Notre Dame, visiting our friends, and of course…eating!! Then we catch a flight from CDG back to Seattle, completing circumnavigating the globe. Westward!

Thanks for reading my post Here We Go – The Grand Adventure. And thanks for all your continued interest in our travel adventures. I am looking forward to this itinerary which offers a lot of relaxation and adventure too. Longer stays than last year’s travel and I like that. Perfect. But, it’s likely I will not have a travel post every Friday…but I will post as often as I can. Meanwhile DO NOT MISS our annual Travel Awards blog post for 2024. You can read it on Friday January 24th. It’s an annual favorite and a must read.

Here we go – The Grand Adventure continues. Buckle up!

We love it when you comment, pin and share our blog posts. Thank you so much! See last week’s post Top Travel Blog Posts of 2024 here.

All photos in today’s post from Canva

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Reading Wednesday

Book Review A Wolff in the Family by Francine Falk-Allen

January 8, 2025

Laureen

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The Publicist for this book Books Forward , reached out to me and asked me to read this novel and consider writing a book review. This is something I do on occasion, and have done so with Books Forward twice before. I did receive a free paperback, but was not compensated in any other way for this review. This is my honest opinion and book review A Wolff in the Family by Francine Falk-Allen.

Life as Fiction

This is a novel based on a true story. Author Francine Falk-Allen learned only as an adult, that her aunts and uncles had been given to an orphanage by Francine’s grandfather. This unexpected information stopped Francine in her tracks. Why had her own mother, Frances, never spoke about this dark time in her family history. This remarkable tale has bones that are true, but the author created a great deal to keep the plot moving forward. I found the book similar to “Sold on a Monday” and a few other similar stories in the early 20th century where orphanages processed children for many reasons including poverty, infidelity and neglect.

A Wolff in the Family

The thing I take away from this book more than any other, is how difficult life was for women in the early 1900’s. The author’s grandmother, Naomi, gave birth to 14 children – there was no birth control. She cared exclusively for these children, while her husband Frank spent most of his time traveling for his job with railroads. Frank provided financially for the family, but did not help raise the children or help around the house. Not unusual for the time, but how many babies did they really need? Naomi, though steadfast and hardworking could not possibly give the attention and love needed to all of these children. She was over her head with physical and emotional strain. Much of the child rearing and housework fell to the two oldest daughters, Frances and Anita.

A Wolff in Sheep’s Clothing

Not surprising or unusual, Frank had women in many of the cities he traveled to. One particular women, Minnie he fell in love with and even fathered at least one child with her. Though Naomi suspected Frank’s infidelities, she had no recourse. But when Frank suspects Naomi too is having an affair he does something very dramatic. He has her legally declared an unfit mother. She is forced to leave her children and go live with her mother.

Frank has clearly not thought through the consequences of this, and is left scrambling to find care for the children still living at home. When Minnie refuses to have all of them live in her home, Frank takes two of the oldest boys to his mother. One boy who is only 13 at the time becomes a drifter. And then Frank does the unthinkable. He takes the five smallest children to an orphanage and turns his back on them.

Family-Ties

It’s no wonder Naomi turns to another man after living under the thumb of Frank and his physical and emotional abuse. But she misses her children terribly as they are scattered to the wind. How will this family find each other again? Can they heal and forgive? Each one finds a different path forward, including both Frank and Naomi but at what cost mentally to all?

This story is not all that unusual for the era…but so often these skeletons in the closet are buried forever in shame. Families often find it hard to process the brutal truth, the difficult gender roles of the time, the racism, infidelity and human failing of our own ancestors. Falk-Allen, though a bit long-winded (my only criticism) makes us all wonder more deeply about our own families and the unspeakable truths hidden in the past.

****Four stars for A Wolff in the Family by Francine Falk-Allen. See last week’s book review Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.

Thank you for reading my book review A Wolff in the Family by Francine Falk- Allen. We love it when you comment, share and pin our book reviews. Thank you.

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Inspire

The Stans

Well not surprisingly you really loved all my posts about the Stans. But I was surprised that these entries ranked near the top for the entire year. Turkmenistan Ashgabat & Beyond, Unbelievable Uzbekistan, Tiny Tajikistan, Incredible Kazakhstan and Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan all peaked your interest – ranking very high for 2024. Click on the links if you want to read these again or for the very first time.

Europe

My readers also enjoyed the three posts I wrote about the Caucasus region; Yerevan Armenia, Tbilisi Georgia and your most favorite of these Baku Azerbaijan . This is a fascinating area in eastern Europe and I hope my experiences opened your eyes to a wonderful collection of destinations.

Additionally three more posts from the Travel Europe category ranked very high this past year; One Day in Bratislava Slovakia, Athens for First Timers and Two Days in Bologna Italy – my most read blog post for 2024. All three cities were surprising to us and places I would surely return to.

Click on any of the links to read them again or for the very first time.

Australia

We love Australia and are heading back for our third visit soon, and one of our favorite places was the sweet town of Hobart on the Tasmania island. You all enjoyed reading about that too, Hobart Tasmania The Most Surprising Town in Australia. I would go back to Hobart for an another visit, and would stay even longer.

Pacific Northwest

Our summer in the Pacific Northwest usually provides me wonderful material for blog posts, and this year you really loved Tracking Trolls in the Pacific Northwest – this post was so popular! If you haven’t seen the trolls yet…check out the link.

The Bird King, by Thomas Dambo, Vashon Island Washington State

My Fab Fifties Life

There you have it, the Top Travel Blog Posts of 2024. My blog has taken on a life of its own over the years, thanks to all the loyal readers. I’m glad our travel life (and book reviews too) give you entertainment, inspiration and educate you about this big beautiful world. I hope you will continue to follow us. Coming up next week our itinerary for our next adventures and don’t miss our Annual Travel Awards blog that will drop January 24th.

See last week’s post about Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan and come back next week for our upcoming travel itinerary 2025.

Happy New Year my friends.

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Reading Wednesday

Book Review Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

January 1, 2025

Laureen

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This beautiful short novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022. Despite the fact my husband and I follow the Booker Prize winners and read most of the novels, this book slipped through the cracks for me. But the short story (114 pages) has had a resurgence with the release of a recent movie (released early 2024) by the same title. As of this writing I have yet to see the movie, but here is my book review Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.

What Would You Do?

There are times in our lives when we are forced to reconcile with our own conscience. These times can try our personal faith, our security and even our lives. But in this novel, based in a small Irish town in 1985, one man will do what is right.

Lyrical and Lovely

Keegan gives us a beautifully written short novel with a narrative that enraptures the reader from the very beginning. We meet Bill Furlong, a family man working in the coal trade to provide for his family. No one in the small town of New Ross is rolling in money, except the Catholic Church. Some folks are barely getting by. But Furlong is a kind man, a hard worker and well respected in the community. He is a faithful husband, a father of three girls and goes to church each week.

Despite being a good man, Bill has been ashamed most of his life, having never known who his father is and being outcast as a bastard. His mother died as a young woman, and Bill has had to work doubly hard to overcome the many circumstances he was dealt as a child.

Something Wrong

Bill plugs along day after day, wondering what else there may be in life. But one day, just before Christmas he arrives early at the convent and encounters something he knows is not right. He battles his conscience and walks away from the scene, but for days he is conflicted, sleepless and burdened. Those in the know warn him to not meddle. Warn him to forget what he saw – stay focused on his business, his family, his future.

But he is too good a man to not interfere. In the last paragraph of the book Keegan writes;

“The worst was yet to come, he knew. Already he could feel a world of trouble waiting for him behind the next door, but the worst that could have happened was also already behind him; the thing not done, which could have been – which he would have had to live with for the rest of his life.”

Book Review Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

I loved this book and read it in a couple of hours. I can’t wait to find the movie. You should read it. Thanks for reading my book review Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. See last week’s book review The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier.

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Follow us as we inspire you to live your best life now. We find inspiration in our Retired Midlife through travel and learning new cultures, writing and reading! What inspires you? I am a retired Grey Goddess on the Go, here to empower and inspire you through your Fabulous middle years! We write regular travel posts and book reviews and have been sharing this blog for 12 years!! Join our club and be fabulous too! You can find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. My Fab Fifties Life!